Almost every vehicle owner at some point or another has returned to his or her vehicle only to find that the battery is “dead.” Car batteries are typically drained when the lights are left on or some other load is left to draw power from the battery without the motor turning the alternator. Typically, the vehicle owner will try to find a good Samaritan to provide a jump, i.e. connecting the depleted battery to the good Samaritan's battery to start the motor, which turns the alternator, which recharged the depleted battery. Too often, however, the good Samaritan is not to be found. Thus, manufacturers have started to market battery boost devices which are portable rechargeable batteries that the user can connect to the vehicle battery to jump start the motor. These boost devices are charged by at an AC power outlet and then may be stored in the car.
A typical battery boost will have an 18V DC sealed lead acid battery pack (an “SLA battery”) that may be comprised of three 6V SLA batteries or a 12V SLA battery and a 6V SLA battery. When used, the user may plug a DC adaptor into the cigarette lighter of the car and can charge the battery over a period of 20 minutes. If the battery is in deep discharge, or a load continues to draw power from the battery, the battery boost may become depleted without providing enough power to the vehicle battery to start the motor. As the existence of the battery boost drain may be unknown to the user, a need exists for a mechanism to alert the user that a load is continuing to draw power or to cut off the power provided to the vehicle battery until the load is turned off.
Further, the SLA battery can hold a charge capable of starting the car for up to six months. As the battery boost is charged, placed in the trunk, and forgotten by the vehicle owner, the owner may not be aware of the amount of charge remaining in the battery. Thus, there also exists a need for a mechanism that reminds a user when the battery boost needs to be recharged.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.